New Friends, Old Enemies
by IrishDipstick
Summary: The Gibbs family return to Stillwater with one extra. Warning will contain punishment spanking / corporal punishment of a minor. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 1

"Taylor?"

Taylor looked up at Michael as she was reluctantly brought back to reality. "Huh?"

"What's your answer to question six?"

She didn't bother looking at the sheet in front of her before answering, there was no point, the page was blank. "Four point seven five."

Michael checked the answer sheet. "Nope."

"Fifteen point two?"

"No."

"Two point seven?"

Someone behind her snickered.

He gave her a warning look. "That's enough guesses Taylor!"

At least he would leave her alone for a while now, she figured, and retreated into her head again. Taylor wondered what her mom was doing right now. It had only been just over four days since Patricia left, but Taylor missed her. And what if she decided not to come back? Fighting back the tears that were welling up, she turned her attention to Mr Substitute Teacher, Michael. It was his fault she'd ended up in trouble for cutting school, when her mom and dad were on honeymoon. This thought just made her think about her mom again. Why'd she have to go help her brother anyway? Atlanta was an awful long distance away, she'd checked it out on the internet. Taylor blinked the tears away again and tried to think of something else.

When the bell rang, Taylor swept everything from the desk into her bag, but when she started to stand, Michael stopped her. Once they were alone Michael perched himself on the desk beside her and folded his arms.

"I thought after we had our little chat yesterday you were actually going to start making an effort."

Shrugging, Taylor checked her watch. "Can you make it quick? My dad gets worried if I'm late." Until Patricia returned, she was back to her old routine, and her first port of call when school was finished was NCIS.

"If that's the way you want to do it, that's fine." He pushed himself of the smaller desk, and reached over to his own. "Just give this to your dad."

Taylor stared at the envelope now in her hand. What was it with teachers and notes?"

"Well go on, you don't want to be late!"

Narrowing her eyes, Taylor was just about to tell him exactly what he could do with the note, but then she remembered what happened the last time she'd done that. It had not ended well. Keeping her mouth clamped firmly shut, she folded the letter in half and slipped it into her back pocket.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The whole team was missing when Taylor reached the bullpen, so, dropping the letter onto her dad's desk, she went to find Abby.

Abby wasn't there either, so Taylor used the opportunity to take a closer look at some of the laboratory equipment. Knowing that she had a tendency to touch things without thinking first, Taylor kept her hands firmly in her pockets. She checked out the mass spec first, it was Abby's favourite, but Taylor couldn't see why. Her favourite was the microscope. Abby had some really cool slides, her parasite ones being the best. Taylor loved checking out the mini monsters, with their nasty looking fangs and numerous legs. Maybe Abby would let her look at a few when she got back.

Taylor was on her second lap around the lab when Abby appeared, Caf-Pow in hand. "Thought you might be hiding down here, your dad's looking for you."

For some reason that got Taylor's back up. "I'm not hiding! There was no one in the bullpen earlier."

Abby set her drink down, but before she could say anything else, Taylor had grabbed her bag and stalked out of the lab.

Her dad wasn't even there when she returned to the bullpen. Tony was though, and was in his element as he ordered Tim and Ziva around. He really was milking the whole 'shot in the line of duty' thing. Taylor wondered if they would be so considerate if they knew, like she did, that Tony didn't need the crutches any more.

"Hey, squirt!" Tony smiled over at her.

"Where'd he go?"

Tony nodded in the general direction of MTAC. "Shouldn't be long." He motioned for her to move closer, looking towards the stairs to make sure it was safe before he spoke. "No sign of your mom coming back yet, he's been a real pain in the…."

"He's been what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs appeared behind him.

"Nothing boss." He braced himself for a headslap, but it didn't happen.

Instead Gibbs grabbed his overcoat, from behind his own desk.

"Going home boss?" Tony could already see his two probies finishing up the rest of his work for him. His hopes were dashed however, when Gibbs replied.

"Yes Tony, and will you get rid of those crutches, you haven't needed them for days!"

Tim and Ziva both glared at Tony, who tried to look as innocent as he could.

Gibbs ignored them and softened his voice as he turned to his daughter. "You coming?"

She nodded and followed him towards the elevator. As they passed Ziva's desk her dad spoke to Ziva, making sure he was loud enough for Tony to hear.

"He's all yours!"

Taylor stopped to watch what was going to happen next. Quickly realising he was being thrown to the wolves, Tony swung his feet down off his desk, and bolted for the men's washroom, his limp miraculously cured.

Ziva winked at her. "He will have to come out sometime, yes?"

Grinning, Taylor moved quickly to catch up with her dad.

"How long do you think he'll stay in the bathroom?" She asked as they waited for the elevator to take them down to the parking garage.

He smiled down at her. "I don't know. How long would you hide in there if Ziva was after you?"

Thinking, Taylor shook her head. Tony always said it wasn't a good idea to piss off the 'crazy ninja chick'. "He's gonna be in there for a really long time, isn't he?"

"Uh huh."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor didn't say anything on the short car ride home. Jethro had glanced over a few times, but she seemed to be in a world of her own. That's exactly how Michael had described her behaviour in his letter. The fact that Taylor didn't seem to care that she's been sent home from school with a note for him was also completely out of character, and she hadn't even asked why they were going home earlier than usual.

As soon as they were home, Taylor made straight for the TV, and he left her to it while he went and changed. Ten minutes later he was back downstairs, rummaging through a drawer in the kitchen. Finding what he had been looking for he joined Taylor in the living room and dumped the pile of take away menus on the coffee table.

"You can pick."

Sliding off the couch she knelt down in front of the low table. Gibbs took her place, and watched her begin to sort through the pile.

"So how was school?"

Taylor shrugged, more interested in the fact that they were going to have something edible for dinner. Last night's attempt by her dad had not been a great success. Taylor had no idea how it was possible to screw up chilli, but what came out of that pot could not be described as food. They had ended up eating peanut butter sandwiches instead.

"You're missing your mom, huh?"

She nodded, and set some of the menus to the side, then spotted another one for the reject pile, Mexican was definitely out.

"She is comin' back, isn't she?" Taylor

"Course she's coming back."

"You sure? What if she likes where she is now, better than here?" Taylor moved another menu to the rest of the rejects.

"Come on, who wouldn't want to come back to us?" The instant the words were out of his mouth he realised what he'd said, and could of kicked himself, as well as his ex wife.

Taylor had frozen, but he knew what she was thinking, even though she had her back to him.

"Set those down for a minute."

Reaching down, he lifted her up beside him, and put his arm around her.

"Hey, look at me."

It took a moment for her to look up at him, and when she did, he was glad Ducky wasn't around because he'd have given him one hell of a head slap. Taylor was fighting hard not to cry as she waited for him to speak, eyes not only filled with unshed tears but with heart wrenching insecurity.

"Taylor, your mom is nothing like Melissa, she hasn't left us, and she WILL be coming home."

"How do you know?"

"I know. Just ask Abby, she'll tell you that I know _everything._

She digested what he'd said. It was true, Abby was always telling her that.

"Your sure you didn't have a fight?" There was still a little doubt left.

"There was no fight."

"Well why didn't we go with her?"

"Now come on, you know she wasn't gonna take you out of class!"

"I wouldn't have minded."

"I can believe that. Is all this worrying been why you haven't been paying attention in school?"

"It's hard to concentrate." Then another thought struck her. If her mom was coming back after all she wouldn't be pleased when she saw the letter from Michael. "Are you gonna show her the letter?"

Jethro grinned, at least she seemed to accept the fact now that Patricia hadn't left them. "How about I don't tell your mom about the note, and you don't tell her that I nearly poisoned us last night."

Happy with that, Taylor nodded before picking the menus up again. "Maybe we should order something for Tony too, he's probably still hiding. Do you think they would deliver to a bathroom?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters._

_Author's warning: I do not condone the use of mobile phones during class – you got that Twilight1987, okay please continue._

Chapter 2

Jethro had called Patricia after he'd had his little chat with Taylor, to explain what was going on. Patricia's brother was still finding it difficult looking after both his ill wife, and his daughter, who at fourteen was quickly becoming a bit of a handful. Patricia was eager to get home too, so as a compromise they had agreed that Vicky should stay with them for a while. That way Patricia could get home to her family, and James could concentrate on his wife.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"You sure she's comin' back tonight?" That was the third time Taylor had asked her dad in the past hour.

Gibbs sighed and lowered the paper he was reading to look at his daughter, who was sprawled out on the floor, and trying to make it look as if she was doing her homework. He wasn't fooled, but Taylor wasn't the only one excited about Patricia's return.

"Yes Taylor, and before you ask again, yes you will be in bed when your mom gets back, no I'm not gonna wake you up, it'll be too late, and yes she's still bringing your cousin."

"Oh, okay, I was just checkin'."

"Speaking of checking, do you need me to check your homework yet?"

Taylor, looking a little bit guilty now, picked up her pencil again. "No, not yet."

Jethro lifted his newspaper again, fairly confident it would be a while before she embarked on the same line of questioning again.

Reluctantly Taylor read through another math problem. How was she supposed to figure out what time the train was gonna arrive at the station? Who cared about the flamin' train anyway? What time her mom was getting back was way more important right now. Now that she would be allowed to wait up for her. Oh no, it didn't matter if her mom had been away for a week, apparently her nine thirty bedtime still stood because according to her dad, she needed her sleep. Well she would just see how long it would take to finish her homework. It could be a very long time!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Not surprisingly Taylor's plan was not a great success. All she'd got for her trouble was a swat to help her on her way up the stairs, and homework she'd have to finish in the morning. Lying in the dark, Taylor listened carefully to the sounds of the house, determined to try and stay awake. Her dad must have been right though, by ten o'clock she was fast asleep.

In fact Taylor forgot all about her mom's return until she was standing in the shower, warm water slowly waking her up. Finishing her shower, Taylor dressed in record time and went to find her mom.

Patricia was standing in the kitchen when Taylor flew in through the doorway and almost mowed her down as she wrapped her arms around her in a way that resembled a football tackle more than a hug.

"So you did miss me then." Patricia hugged her back.

Taylor, feeling a little self-conscious stepped back a bit.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" She grinned down at her daughter.

Taylor nodded. "Maybe just a bit."

"Yeah well, I missed you a lot, so I'll need a longer hug than that!"

Secretly pleased Taylor allowed her mom to pull her closer again."

"Hey! That's not fair, I didn't get a hug like that!"

Taylor hadn't even noticed her dad was sitting at the table.

"That's cause she didn't miss you as much dad!" She stuck her tongue out at him before raiding the cupboard for cereal.

Jethro waited for his wife to respond to their daughter's statement and when she didn't, he tried to look hurt.

Didn't make Taylor feel guilty though, she just grinned smugly and poured some milk onto her Rice Krispies. "Told ya!"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The reunion was interrupted by the appearance of Patricia's niece. Taylor kept eating as she eyed the girl warily. A good head taller than herself she looked a little like Patricia. Same long dirty fair hair, and blue eyes. Her expression however was similar to the one she normally sported herself on a school morning, and when they were introduced Vicky just raised a hand and gave a tired "Hi."

Patricia set a bowl in front of Vicky and passed her the box of cereal. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not long enough! Still don't see why I have to sit at the back of your class all day. I could work here on my own you know." Vicky had spent most of the flight trying to convince her aunt that she was old enough to stay on her own during the day. It was only a week until the schools closed for their two week spring vacation and she had managed to talk Patricia into postponing her enrolment into a school here until they had a better idea how long she'd be staying. Unfortunately it hadn't been so easy trying to obtain some freedom. Her aunt wasn't budging. Now she was expected to spend her days sitting with a class full of eleven or twelve year olds.

Taylor was following the conversation, only mildly interested. She knew there was no way Vicky was gonna win. Then a thought struck her.

"Wait a minute!" Her head spun towards her mom. "You mean you're back at school today?"

Patricia looked surprised at the question. "Didn't your dad tell you?"

"No." She looked accusingly at her father. " You knew I didn't have to do my homework? That is so not funny!"

"Sorry kid." He ruffled her hair as he passed behind her. "Must have forgotten. Still it gave you something to do last night, didn't it?"

Figuring now was a good time to leave, Jethro kissed his wife, and made a quick exit. Taylor's glare burning into his back.

"So do you two want a ride, or are you going to walk?" Patricia wasn't going to give Vicky the opportunity to start arguing again.

Vicky and Taylor answered at the same time. "Walk."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

By the time they had reached the school, Taylor had decided she liked this girl. She was nothing like that psycho Megan. Vicky, although older, seemed to have a lot in common with her. Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as she'd thought it would be. Vicky had even pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered her one when Taylor had stopped to point out the skate park. Yeah, this having a cousin was definitely showing promise.

Taylor had found the day pretty tough, because now Michael was gone she actually had to work. Still, Vicky kept her amused with funny text messages throughout the day, so it wasn't as boring as it normally would have been.

Both girls were chomping at the bit to escape the classroom by the afternoon, even though they had to go to NCIS because Patricia had an unexpected meeting to attend. Vicky was full of questions as they made they started walking again. Her dad was an accountant, and compared to that a federal agent sounded so much more interesting, and Taylor was more than happy to oblige.

When they found the bullpen empty, Taylor decided to give her a guided tour, starting with Abby's lab. Vicky seemed really impressed with both Abby and the lab, especially when Abby produced her parasite slides. They kept them amused for a while, until Abby had to go down to the evidence garage, and didn't want to leave the pair of them on their own.

They rode down in the elevator with Abby, but didn't get out. Instead, Taylor hit the button that would take them back to the bullpen. She didn't notice Vicky's interest in the control panel.

"What's on that floor?"

Taylor looked to see which button she was pointing to. "Autopsy."

"What, you mean where they cut up dead bodies?" Vicky wasn't sure she believed her.

"Yeah, but I'm not allowed in there."  
"So, you've never seen it?"

"Course I have, I've been in with my dad."

"So what's it like? Did you see any bodies?"

Taylor shook her head. "No bodies. Just a lot of stainless steel. Not very exciting." She had a nasty idea what was coming next.

Vicky hit the button for Ducky's lab.

"Are you nuts? We're so dead if we get caught! Taylor wasn't sure what to do.

"Aw come on, you know you want to!" Vicky winked at her. "If you're scared you can always wait at the elevator."

She thought frantically for a few seconds, and when the elevator doors slid open Taylor said a quick prayer, crossed her fingers and followed Vicky.

Autopsy was deserted, except for the body lying on one of the stainless steel tables at the far side of the lab, and the two girls made their way quietly over. Taylor was on full alert, if Ducky reappeared he would freak. From the moment she was old enough to make her way around the building on her own, she'd had it drummed into her head that autopsy was off limits. She'd never been brave enough to disobey that order before.

The body in front of them was so still it didn't look real, until they got close enough to see the Y incision Ducky had already made on it's chest. Then it looked real enough. From behind them, the elevator dinged a warning, and Taylor grabbed Vicky and pulled her down behind the table. There was nowhere they could go. Taylor was sure whoever was there would be able to hear her heartbeat. From the footsteps they could tell it was only one person, but there was no way Taylor was gonna risk taking a peek to see who it was.

When the unidentified person sneezed, Taylor knew it was Jimmy. That made her feel a bit better, at least it wasn't Ducky. With Palmer there was a chance of talking him out of telling anyone. She was gonna have to risk revealing themselves, and put their fate into his hands, because Ducky was likely to show up soon too, and then they'd be in big trouble. Taking a deep breath Taylor stood up, pulling Vicky to her feet at the same time. Palmer was only a few feet away, standing with his back to them. "Hi Jimmy."

Jimmy screamed and dropped the tray of instruments , scattering them over the floor as he spun round to see who or what was behind him. The blood had drained from his face and he stood staring at the pair, hand over his rapidly beating heart, mouth still wide open.

Taylor used her best puppy dog expression. "Sorry Jimmy, we didn't mean to scare you. Honest."

Vicky was scrambling about the floor, picking up Jimmy's dropped equipment, leaving her cousin to explain them selves to the autopsy gremlin.

Palmer finally found his voice. "Wha…..what are you doing down here?" He stammered and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "You know you're not allowed in autopsy! Your dad's not going to be happy!"

She couldn't think of a reason, her brain was frozen.

Vicky, realising Taylor wasn't going to come up with anything, stood up and set the shiny metal instruments onto the closest empty table, and offered up an excuse.

"I got lost and Taylor came in to find me. You just spooked us."

"Well, I … ah…. suppose…."

"You're not gonna tell are you?" Taylor ventured.

Vicky gave him a disarming smile. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone you screamed like a girl."

He blushed, but also looked relieved. "Thanks." If DiNozzo found out he'd never hear the end of it.

For the first time Jimmy seemed to notice the body they were standing beside and quickly ushered them towards the door.

"You'd better go. If Dr Mallard finds you here he won't be happy."

"Very good assumption Mr Palmer." Ducky appeared in the doorway. He gave Taylor a disapproving look, and she guiltily hung her head, and stuck her hands in her pockets. He pressed the button on the elevator before he continued. "You can sterilise the instruments again Mr Palmer, while I escort Miss Gibbs and her friend back to Jethro."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 3

Taylor kept her eyes firmly on the floor as the elevator carried them upwards towards the bullpen. She didn't want to see the disappointed look Ducky was bound to be giving her right now. He must be really angry because he wasn't saying anything, not even a sign of one of his long convoluted stories. Taylor jumped when Vicky whispered into her ear.

"Let me do the talking."

Taylor didn't acknowledge the comment. What was the point? Her dad was gonna go nuts no matter what Vicky said.

As usual when Taylor was in trouble and didn't want her dad to be there, he was. Gibbs was sitting behind his desk and already looked pissed as he punched at his keyboard with a little more force than necessary.

"Lose something Jethro?" Ducky stepped aside to reveal the two girls.

"Didn't know they were here Duck. Where'd you find them?"

Ducky turned to give them another disapproving look. "Autopsy."

Gibbs was up from his desk and in front of his daughter in the blink of an eye. Taylor, head still down, closed her eyes and prayed he would at least wait until they got home before he made it perfectly clear he didn't approve of what she'd done.

"I'll leave them in your capable hands Jethro, I need to have a word with Mr Palmer."

For some reason the phrase 'rat leaving a sinking ship' flashed through Taylor's mind as he watched him leave, but she wasn't given a lot of time to think about it before her dad grabbed a hold of her and turned her back to face him.

"WHAT THE HELL ….." Gibbs stopped mid rant when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Vicky was looking up at him, tears already filling her eyes.

"It's not Taylor's fault uncle Jethro, she only went in there to help me."

Once Taylor realised her father's attention was no longer on her she risked looking up, just in time to see him put his arm around her cousin.

"What happened?" he asked his voice softened considerably.

"We were racing each other down the stairs to Abby's lab, but I must have gone down to far. It was awful! I don't know what I'd have done if Taylor hadn't heard me. There was a body in there, and it was all ….. cut up! It was just so, so ….." Vicky burst into tears.

Taylor stared at Vicky in awe as her dad pulled the girl closer and hugged her. If she'd tried lying to her dad like that his belt would have been off the instant she stopped speaking.

He held her until she calmed down, then handed her a tissue. 'Feeling better?"

Vicky nodded.

Gibbs looked at his watch. "I'll only be about half an hour. Why don't you go and wait with Abby, but this time make sure you take the elevator."

Taylor didn't speak until the elevator doors closed. "How the hell did you do that?" She was still having trouble believing what had just happened.

Vicky grinned at her. "My mom used to made me take acting classes, comes in handy sometimes."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor's dad didn't mention the incident again, probably for fear of upsetting Vicky. Although a little jealous of Vicky's ability to lie convincingly, Taylor wasn't complaining, after all it was her butt that had been saved, and maybe she'd be able to pick up a few tips from her cousin. Now that would be cool. She glanced at the girl sitting beside her. Vicky was watching a group of boys skateboarding at the far side of the park.

"He's kinda cute, isn't he?"

"Who?" Taylor scanned the group of skaters.

"Jason." Vicky laughed at the expression of disbelief on Taylor's face. "I know he is a bit younger than me, but he's still cute."

Taylor shook his head. She couldn't see it. "I'll take your word for it."

"Has he got a girlfriend?"

"Don't think so." Taylor replied.

Vicky seemed pleased with her answer, and turned her attention back to Jason again, before nudging Taylor. "Go get him to come over."

"What for?"

"I just wanna talk to him." She gave Taylor a friendly shove. "Go on!"

With a loud 'tut' Taylor pushed herself up off the bench and skated over towards Jason. To her surprise Jason was more than willing to go and talk with Vicky, quickly kicking the end of his board, catching it and tucking it under his arm before trotting obediently over to her.

Taylor left them to it, preferring instead to skate, and make the most of their time before they had to leave.

The two were still deep in conversation as Taylor followed them home, and she tried not to feel left out as they laughed and giggled in front of her. By the time they reached their street though, she was fed up with being ignored, and when Jason and Vicky planted themselves on Jason's wall Taylor just headed straight into the house.

Patricia looked up at the clock when she heard the back door close. Taylor trudged through the kitchen into the living room, dropping the skates of the floor beside her as she threw herself down on the couch.

"You're early." Patricia regarded her daughter carefully. There was almost twenty minutes left before her curfew, and Taylor normally didn't appear until the last possible moment.

Taylor shrugged and lifted the remote.

"Where's Vicky?"

"Out front with her boyfriend."  
"Her boyfriend?"

When Taylor looked up her mom was at the window.

"You mean Jason?" Patricia wasn't happy with the revelation. The main reason Vicky had come back with her was to get her away from the boy she had been seeing. The girl was boy crazy.

"Yeah."

"Since when?"

"Since today." Taylor turned the volume up, giving her mom a clear signal that the conversation was over.

Vicky followed Taylor up to bed at nine thirty, even though she didn't have to go to bed until ten. Taylor found her perched on the end of her bed when she emerged from the bathroom in her pyjamas. Before Vicky even opened her mouth Taylor knew all she would want to talk about would be Jason. She was right. For the next few moments Taylor was bombarded with questions about Jason, only managing to escape the interrogation when her mom came up to check she was in bed and chased Vicky out of her room.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Once both girls were safely in bed Patricia tried to explain the situation to her husband. Of course she had to wait until Jethro stopped laughing at the idea of Jason having a girlfriend. He stopped pretty damn quickly though when Patricia pointed out that Taylor could be next on Jason's list of potential girlfriends. It was one of those moments when she really wished she had a camera, because the expression on Jethro's face was priceless.

Feeling guilty she tried to reassure him. "Don't panic, I don't think Taylor's quite ready to start dating just yet." But then couldn't resist adding "I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was twelve."

Her husband looked horrified. "Taylor's twelve in a couple of weeks!"

"Is she?" Patricia ducked to avoid the cushion Jethro launched at her when he finally realised she was winding him up.

"That was not funny!" He held his finger and thumb about half an inch apart. "I was this close to shipping her off to an all girls' boarding school."

She sat down beside him. "Seriously, what do you think we should do about Vicky?"

"She'll be fine." He put his arm around her. "Don't forget we're going to stay with my dad in a few days, then Jason will be out of the picture. We'll just keep a closer eye on her until then."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

For the next few days Taylor was left much to her own devices as Vicky and Jason spent most of their spare time together. So when the pair approached her on Friday on the way back from school Taylor knew they wanted something from her. Vicky offered her a cigarette, but Taylor just shook her head.

"Suit yourself." Vicky put the cigarette into her mouth and lit it, taking a drag before speaking again. "We're going to a party tonight. Wanna come?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Don't wanna." Taylor was not about to tell her cousin that the last time she'd snuck out to a party her dad had spanked her every night for a week. God only knew what he'd do if she tried it again.

Jason piped in. "Aw come on Taylor, you turnin' chicken?"

"Not goin' Jason." Taylor kept walking. It wasn't just the spanking she was afraid of. They were going to see her grandpa on Monday and she didn't want to end up grounded again.

"It's okay Jason, if she doesn't want to go she doesn't have to. Vicky grabbed Taylor's arm to stop her. "Would you show me how to turn the power off then?"

That's what they had been after all along. Vicky just needed a way to get past the alarm.

"You'll only get caught." Taylor warned.

"Let me worry about that." Vicky took a hold of Jason's hand.

"Fine, but if anyone asks, you figured it out on your own. Got it?"

Vicky grinned. "Got it."

When Taylor went to bed that night she couldn't sleep, knowing that Vicky was preparing to sneak out. For a while she could hear her cousin moving about in the room next to hers, then nothing. When the display on her alarm clock went dark she knew Vicky was gone. Rolling over, Taylor pulled the quilt over her head and thought about what she was going to be able to do while they were staying with her grandpa, before drifting off to sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

When Jethro woke up around two, he knew something was wrong. The bedroom was too dark. The clock was off and when he tried the bedside lamp nothing happened. Swearing under his breath, he pulled on his jeans, grabbed the torch he kept in the drawer beside the bed and headed down to the basement to check the fuse box.

For a moment he just stared at the open box, the main circuit breaker clearly in the off position. He couldn't believe she'd done it again, not after the last time he'd punished her for sneaking out. Leaving the power off he stormed back upstairs, temper rising fast. There was no point going out to look for Taylor, she could be anywhere, but he was going to make damn sure he was waiting for her when she got back. Jethro had reached the landing at the top of the stairs when he remembered about Vicky. Quietly opening Vicky's door he shone the torch at the bed. It was empty. This time he swore a little louder. Both of them? He'd have thought Vicky would have had more sense. Well Patricia could deal with her, he had enough on his hands with Taylor. He briefly thought about waking his wife but ruled it out. She might as well get some sleep in before the girls returned. Closing Vicky's door behind him Gibbs made his way into Taylor's room, planning on waiting there, the way he had the last time.

He didn't use the torch as he crossed the room to the window, where he opened the curtains to check the street outside. The road was deserted.

"Dad?"

Jethro spun round. The light from the street lamp now illuminating the room. His daughter was lying in bed, watching him.

"I thought you were up to your old tricks again. Vicky snuck out."

Taylor shook her head.

"Do you know where she is?" He was sitting beside her now.

"No." Vicky hadn't told her where the party was and she hadn't asked.

"Is she with Jason?"

"Dad, she's always with Jason."

"Did you know Vicky was planning on sneaking out of here?"

"If I said yes would you be mad at me?"

"No. Vicky makes her own choices."

"I knew, but I really don't know where the party is."

Jethro didn't alert her to the fact she'd just revealed that Jason and Vicky were at a party.

"How come you're still here? Didn't they ask you to go?" He was curious as to why Taylor hadn't given into temptation. He felt her shrug beside him before she answered.

"Cause after last time I didn't think it would be worth it."

"Smart decision."

"Is Vicky in trouble?"

Leaning down he kissed her forehead. "Uh huh. Now close your eyes again and get some sleep."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The house was quiet when Taylor woke up the following morning, so figuring it was safe to put in an appearance she quickly showered and headed downstairs. Her mom and dad were in the kitchen. Both looked tired and there was no sign of Vicky. Grabbing a banana, she peeled it and took a bite before asking where Vicky was.

It was her mom who answered. "She's still in bed."

"Is she okay?"

Patricia gave her a half-hearted smile. When Vicky finally made it home at three thirty she had been so drunk that she had no idea what was going on. All they could do was put her to bed, and hold her head every time she threw up. "She's fine Taylor."

Taylor could have sworn she heard her father mumble "for now" as he dropped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. When he turned round though he didn't look angry. He didn't say anything else until she finished her banana and the toast had popped. Setting it on a plate he slid it in front of her.

"When you eat that go change into your sweatpants. I thought we could check out that new climbing wall you've been going on about."

Taylor looked up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Really."

Eating quickly Taylor was up and changed in no time, eager to get going. She returned just in time to overhear her parents talking.

"You sure you want to handle this?"

"I'll be fine Jethro. Now go on, have fun, and I'll see you when you get back."

Taylor stepped through into the kitchen, hoping there wasn't going to be a change of plan.

"All set?" Her mom asked, smiling.

"Yep." Taylor relaxed, they were still going.

Her dad handed her the car keys. "Why don't you go wait in the car, I'll be out in a minute."

Patricia waited until she heard the front door closing behind Taylor before standing and reaching for her wooden spoon. "Wish me luck."

Jethro pulled her close, trapping her in a hug.

"Good luck." He whispered, but didn't release her.

"You do know we can't just stand here all day?" Putting her hands on his chest Patricia gently pushed him, but instead of letting go he just grinned at her.

"Why not? Give me a good enough reason and I'll leave."

"Well for a start if you make Taylor wait much longer she'll take it into her head to drive to the sports centre herself."

"Nope. Not good enough. Her feet don't reach the pedals yet. You're gonna have to do better than that." Leaning down he started kissing the side of her neck, but let out a gasp and straightened up when a little circle of fire suddenly erupted on his butt.

Patricia smiled at him sweetly, and held up the spoon. "Is this a good enough reason?"

"That'll do it." Jethro released his wife and made his way out of the kitchen, rubbing his butt as he went. He stopped in the living room, a safe distance away from the spoon before poking his head through the door again. "You know Taylor's right, you are lethal with that thing!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 4

Vicky had managed to drag herself out of bed and into the shower by the time Taylor and her dad left. Hearing her niece moving about upstairs, Patricia poured herself another cup of coffee and sat down at the table to wait. The first thing she had done that morning was call her brother, and while not happy with his daughter's behaviour he was not surprised by it. Vicky had pulled the same stunt a number of times over the past few months.

Despite being angry at Vicky's drunken night out Patricia smiled to herself. Jethro had been over the moon that Taylor hadn't gone with her cousin, after being so sure that she was the one behind the 'break out'. Even when they had been looking after Vicky in her intoxicated state, that idiotic grin she loved kept creeping across his face.

A guilty looking Vicky shuffled past her to the sink, filling a glass with water before taking a long drink. Patricia gave it a few moments to make sure the water stayed down before speaking.

"Sit."

Vicky filled her glass again before doing as she was told.

"Look aunt Patricia, I'm really sorry, I just needed to blow off some steam." Vicky's eyes began to fill up with tears. "It's just that I've been so worried about mom, you know?"

Patricia nodded. Give the girl enough rope and she'd hang herself. "How was she the last time you rang?"

Now Vicky did start crying. "She says she's feeling a bit better, but I think she's just trying to protect me."

"When did you speak to her last?" Patricia was watching the girl carefully, she already knew Vicky was lying through her teeth.

"I call her every night." She sniffed loudly. "I miss her!" Then started to cry even harder.

Nodding as if she understood Patricia waited until the tears started to ease up. "That's strange."

Vicky looked up. "What.." she sniffed again. "…is?"

When I spoke to your dad this morning he said you hadn't called once since you left."

A flash of anger flashed across the girl's face, but Patricia ignored it.

"I don't appreciate being lied to. I know exactly what happened."

Vicky opened her mouth as if to start protesting, then had second thoughts and closed it again.

"You snuck out in the middle of the night to go to a party with Jason, drank so much you could hardly stand up, and to top it all off you tried to lie your way out of it!"

Vicky stayed silent, but Patricia wasn't letting her get away that easily. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry. I've nev…."

"Don't you dare try and tell me you haven't done anything like this before, or so help me, once I'm through with you I'll hand you over to Jethro, and believe me, you do not want to find out what he thinks about lying."

"Sorry." This time her apology seemed to be sincere.

"Did you try and talk Taylor into going with you?"

Dropping her eyes down to where hands rested on the table she gave a barely audible "yes".

"So you were perfectly willing to put your cousin into a potentially dangerous situation. For heaven's sake Vicky, Taylor's a lot younger, and whether or not you know it she looks up to you. You should be setting a good example for her, not leading her into trouble."

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't have let her get hurt."

"You really think you would have been able to look out for her, in the state you were in?"

"No."

"Anything else I should know about last night?"

She shook her head, and then remembered about the pack of cigarettes in the pocket of her jeans. It was a pretty safe bet her aunt had already found them last night. "I might have had a few cigarettes." Vicky mumbled, before risking a look at her aunt. She knew.

"Do I really need to explain all the health risks of smoking."

"No."

Standing up, Patricia pushed her chair in towards the table. "We'll finish this upstairs."

"What do you mean?"

Not answering, Patricia picked the spoon up from the counter top and watched as Vicky's eyes opened wide in shock.

"But you can't aunt Patricia, you haven't spanked me in years!"

"You haven't deserved it until now." She pointed towards the door.

Vicky folded her arms and pouted, looking more like an eight year old than a teenager. "I'm not gonna let you! I'm too old to be spanked!"

Patricia made her way round the table and stood behind her niece. "You have two choices. Either you get your backside upstairs now and accept your punishment or we can just sit here until your uncle gets back with Taylor, then he can spank you instead."

Some choice Vicky thought as she slowly stood up and walked towards the stairs, her aunt close behind. At least she knew what to expect from Patricia. Her uncle however was another matter. Jason had told her about some of the scrapes he had gotten into with Taylor, and Jason was definitely scared of the man.

As soon as they entered her room Patricia took her hand and led her over to the bed, unfastening the button on her jeans before gently pulling her down and across her lap. Vicky held her tongue as she felt her jeans being tugged down, this was not a good position to argue in.

Unlike Taylor, when Patricia started to spank. Vicky did not struggle. Instead she kept as still as she could, crying quietly into her hands. She didn't need to lecture, Vicky was well aware of the reasons why she was in this position. After a couple of minutes Patricia decided that Vicky had had enough and set the spoon down beside her on the bed, but kept a hand on her back to stop her getting up. Not because she was going to start smacking her again, it was just as a little incentive in case Vicky thought about objecting to being grounded.

You're not setting foot out of this house until we leave for Stillwater on Monday. How you behave until then will determine just how long the grounding will continue for after that. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Patricia helped her up, and Vicky fixed her pants and gingerly sat beside her, tears already stopped.

"I really am sorry, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt Taylor, I swear. I just didn't think, I'll look out for her in future, I promise."

"That's good, but what about looking out for yourself? You're much to young to be drinking."

"I know. After last night I don't even want to be in the same room as a bottle of beer." Right now the thought made her feel queasy.

Noticing Vicky pale, Patricia reached behind her and gently rubbed her back. "And smoking?"

"You probably have my pack anyway. Right?" She gave her aunt a sheepish grin, and Patricia grinned back.

"Already in the trash."

"Thought so." Vicky started to say something else, but stopped.

"What?"

"You don't come and visit anymore."

"It's not that easy now I'm married, I've Jethro and Taylor to think about. But you know you're always welcome to come and stay, as long as your mom and dad say it's alright."

"You're not sending me home?" Vicky had figured she would be on the first flight back to Atlanta.

"No, of course not. It might be a good idea to apologise to your uncle though."

Vicky nodded even though she wasn't overly keen on the proposition.

Patricia stood up. "You can come down when you're ready to eat something."

"Don't think I'll ever want to eat again."

"You will." Patricia had reached the door when she turned round again. "Oh and Vicky. I wouldn't try lying to Jethro again. I know there's no way you stumbled into autopsy by mistake. You've never raced anyone in your life."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

While her mom was dealing with Vicky, Taylor was finding it difficult to stand still as her dad strapped her into the climbing harness. She couldn't wait to start climbing. The wall was high, really, really high, but that just made it better. After checking all the straps were secure her gave her a thumbs up. "All set?"

Taylor had just nodded when her dad's phone rang.

"Don't move." He warned, before flipping the phone open and taking a few steps away so she couldn't listen in.

The call only lasted a few seconds, but when he turned back Taylor was already trying unsuccessfully to release herself from the harness. "What are you doing?"

She looked up at him. "Don't you have to go into work?"

"No, Tony can handle it." He lent down and checked the straps again. "You're good to go. Let's see what you can do."

Holding the rope he watched Taylor scramble up the wall. He might have been the one making sure she didn't fall, but his heart ended up in his throat a few times when she couldn't reach a handhold and jumped for it.

After a couple of hours Taylor began to fall more often and Gibbs realised his daughter was getting tired. He lowered her back to the ground again.

"Aren't you afraid of falling?"

"Why would I be scared? You're not gonna let me hit the ground, are you?"

He grinned. "I'll try not to."

"Huh?" She looked at him, shocked.

Jethro shook his head. "I'm not going to let you fall Taylor. You want one last go before we head home?"

"Not needing any more encouragement Taylor started climbing again."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"So what do you think about Jason having a girlfriend then?" It had taken Jethro a couple of blocks for him to pick up the courage to ask that question.

When Taylor looked round at him from the passenger seat his eyes were firmly fixed on the road ahead, but he definitely looked uncomfortable. "Jason can go out with who ever he wants."

"But you don't like him like that?"

"Dad! Jason's just Jason!" She blushed a little at the thought. The whole idea was just SO wrong! Now she was the one feeling uncomfortable, but that could be easily fixed. "I mean Jason's cute and all, but he's no Jake." Taylor stared innocently out the window and waited to see how he'd react.

"Jake? Who the hell is Jake?" He was trying to watch her and the road at the same time. It wasn't working.

"My boyfriend. I haven't told you about Jake before?"

"No, you haven't! What age is he?"

Taylor picked a random number. "Fifteen."

"Fifteen?"

Her dad looked as if he was gonna have a stroke, so she reckoned she'd pushed him far enough. "Yeah, as soon as he's old enough to drive we're gonna run off to Vegas and get married, probably by Elvis."

Gibbs glared at his daughter, but it didn't remove the huge grin from her face. "What? You don't like Elvis?"


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 5

Taylor was still grinning when they arrived home. She ran into the house before her dad, eager to see Vicky, and tell her all about her morning, but only her mom was there.

"Where's Vicky?"

"Up in her room."

Taylor hesitated, maybe her cousin was grounded and not allowed to talk to her.

"Can I go see her?"

Her mom had barely finished nodding before Taylor was halfway up the stairs.

"Looks as if Taylor enjoyed herself."

"Yeah, she did. I got tired just watching her, the kid has to be half monkey. How'd it go with Vicky?"

Patricia shrugged. "Hopefully she got the message, but if she didn't, the hangover she has right now should make just as big an impression as my spoon."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"You okay?" Taylor bounced onto the bed beside Vicky.

"I will be when you stop jumping." Her stomach was still churning.

"Sorry." Taylor stilled herself. "We went climbing."

Vicky closed her eyes and tried to convince herself she didn't want to throw up again. "I wish I'd have been able to come too."

"You like climbing?" Vicky didn't strike her as the climbing type.

Blushing slightly she shook her head. "Not really."

Taylor was silent for a few moments as she figured out what her cousin meant. "I did tell you that you'd get caught."

"I know. I should have listened."

"What'd they do to you?"

Vicky blushed again. "Let's just say aunt Patricia wasn't very happy."

"Oh. She walloped you with her spoon then."

"Yeah." There was no point denying what had happened. From the sound of it Taylor had experienced the same thing. Still, a change of subject was definitely in order. "Is your dad downstairs?"

"Yep."

"Is he in a good mood?"

"Uh huh." Taylor set down the magazine she had been flicking through and looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"I want to apologise."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Vicky found her uncle in the living room, lying on the couch, eyes closed. She watched him for a few seconds, trying to decide if she should just wake him and get it over with. Thinking it might not be such a good idea she turned to leave.

"Something on your mind?" He sat up and patted the seat beside him.

Now there was no way out, and she sat down and started to speak before she lost her nerve. "I'm sorry about last night."

"Uh huh."

Okay, he wasn't going to make this easy, but Vicky couldn't blame him. "I shouldn't have gone to the party, or tried to get Taylor to come too."

When he raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing she added, "It won't happen again."

"Okay. Anything else?" There was obviously something still bothering her.

"Well, I ah, sort of lied to you, about being in autopsy." Vicky couldn't tell if he was angry or not, so decided to stare at her hands until she'd finished confessing. "I wanted to see what it was like."

Gibbs was a little shocked that the girl had lied so convincingly. "Was it your idea or Taylor's?"

Suddenly realising she'd nearly landed her cousin in trouble, she quickly answered. "It was my idea. Taylor told me not to go in, but I didn't listen. She only came in after me to get me to leave. Then we were trapped when Jimmy came in. I think we scared him. He screamed like a girl."

Jethro had to smile at the thought of how Palmer would of reacted. "I bet he did."

Vicky waited for him to tell her to go pack her bags, instead he put his arm around her.

"There better not be a repeat of last night, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

He ruffled her hair. "You still hungover?"

Vicky nodded.

"You tried eating anything yet?"

"No." The very thought made her feel sick."

"I know it's hard to believe, but eating will make you feel better."

"You sure?" She asked, sounding remarkably like Taylor.

Ignoring the question he stood and gently pulled Vicky to her feet before leading her into the kitchen. "Come on, you can start with some toast. Later on, when you're feeling better we can go over a few ground rules."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

When dinner was over Gibbs figured it was as good a time as any to go over the rules with Vicky, so when his niece and daughter stood up to leave he stopped them both.

"Sit down, I want to go over the ground rules. Just so you know where you stand."

Vicky nodded and sat down again. Taylor was about to protest, then had second thoughts and followed her cousin's example.

"You haven't come up with any more have you? Because there's an awful lot already." She looked at her dad, her eyes narrowed.

"No. Do you think I need to?"

Taylor shook her head. "Nope, you definitely have enough. Maybe you should get rid of a few, it would make it easier to remember them all."

"Nice try Taylor, but the list will never get shorter, only longer. Now are you two ready to listen?"

Both nodded.

"Right then, the most important one is never put yourselves in danger, and that includes sneaking out at night. When you go to bed, you stay there. When you do go out you let either me or Patricia know where you're going.

Vicky blushed, but gave a quick nod to show she understood.

"No lying, when we ask you something we expect you to tell the truth." There were no objections so he continued. "No drinking, smoking or drugs, and if we ask you do something you do it without argument. Both of you following so far?"

"Yes." Vicky was feeling guilty, she'd broken so many already.

"Uh huh." Taylor was bored.

"Good. You don't cut school, and you hand your homework in on time. Swearing is a big no, and we expect both of you to be respectful. I also don't want to hear that either one of you have been fighting, and Vicky, when you're not grounded you have to be back home by seven thirty, just like Taylor, at least until the summer nights come in."

Jethro looked over at Patricia. "Do you want to add anything?"

"I think you've covered everything."

Taylor grinned at them. "You forgot one."

Her mom and dad both asked at the same time. "What?"

"We're not allowed to kill the wooden spoon."

"That too." Patricia confirmed.

"If you want to know the consequences of breaking any of the rules Vicky, ask Taylor. She's tried all of them at least once."

"You have?" Vicky was shocked. Even she hadn't touched drugs, and she'd never dream of cutting school.

Taylor was embarrassed by her dad's revelation. "But not all at once." She added seriously, as if somehow that made it better.

"Now that's done, have either of you started packing yet?"

Both shook their heads.

"Well get to it then." That should keep them out of trouble for a while he thought as he started to clear the table.

"The dishes are all yours tonight." Patricia headed towards the stairs.

"Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to make sure Taylor actually packs some clothes. I don't want to get to Stillwater and discover the only thing in her bag is a playstation.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The sun was splitting the sky as they drove into Stillwater on Monday afternoon. Taylor eagerly scanned the streets, trying to determine if anything had changed since the last time she was here, while Vicky and Patricia both took in the small town for the first time. As usual Taylor's grandpa was waiting outside the store for them and she was out of the car and into his arms in record time. When she finally let go of him he was able to turn his attention to the others. Vicky hung back, unsure of what to say to the man, but she didn't have the chance to speak before he pulled her into a hug, just as he had with Taylor. "It's good to see you again Vicky." Still a little shy, she was surprised that he remembered her from the wedding.

"Taylor, why don't you take your cousin upstairs and show her your room. He turned back to Vicky. "You're going to have to share I'm afraid, I hope you don't mind."

Vicky had just enough time to tell him she didn't, before Taylor took a hold of her hand and excitedly pulled her through the store and up the stairs.

Kicking her bag under one of the two single beds in their room, she waited impatiently for her cousin to unpack. She couldn't see the point herself, her clothes were gonna end up back in the bag anyway.

"So what do you wanna do first?"

Vicky placed the last t-shirt into the drawer and sat down on her bed opposite Taylor. "I don't know if I'm still grounded."

"Want me to ask?" Taylor offered.

Vicky shook her head. "No, I'll do it."

Taylor followed her down to the kitchen where everyone was gathered round the table, and gave her an encouraging nudge to get her started."

"Aunt Patricia, uncle Jethro, ….. am I still grounded?"

It was Jethro who replied. "That depends. Are you going to behave yourself?"

She nodded.

"Well as long as you stay out of trouble, you're not grounded."

"Thanks uncle Jethro. I will."

"And Taylor…"

"What? I'm not grounded!"

"Make sure you stay well clear of Patrick and Ethan. I don't want a repeat of last time." He warned.

Taylor didn't respond. To be honest she'd been hoping the opportunity for a little revenge might present itself. Instead she chose to pretend she didn't know that he wanted her to reply, and turned towards Vicky. "You coming?"

Her dad let her think she'd got away with it, and she managed to reach the door before he spoke again. "Taylor."

"Yeah dad?" She asked innocently.

"You're not setting a foot outside until you agree to stay away from Patrick and Ethan."

Taylor quickly weighed up her options, there was no way she wanted to spend almost two weeks stuck indoors, not when she hadn't done anything wrong. "Okay." She sighed. "Can we go now?"

He nodded, and both girls disappeared quickly, just in case he changed his mind.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"So who are Patrick and Ethan?" Vicky asked as they strolled down the main street.

"Just a couple of dickheads."

"I take it you don't exactly get on."

Taylor laughed at the thought of the pair in the sinking boat. "No, not exactly."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a car screeched to a halt beside them.

"Don't believe they actually let you back into town shortass!" Ethan smirked at her through the open window of his car.

Swallowing down her anger at the insult, Taylor made a big show of checking out his car. "You on your way to the junkyard? Cause you're wasting your time, you'll have to pay them to take that pile of shit!"

From the expression on his face Ethan really didn't like that comment, but before he could do anything about it Vicky stepped in front of Taylor.

"Oh I don't know Taylor, I think it has a lot of potential." Vicky smiled sweetly at the teenager.

Ethan blushed and returned her smile.

"I'm Vicky." She could feel Taylor's glare trying to bore a hole into her back.

"Ethan." He looked her up and down. "How about you ditch the munchkin and come for a drive with me?"

Vicky reached behind her and squeezed Taylor's arm, just in case she was gonna do something stupid. "Sounds good but I can't right now."

His face fell.

"Next time?"

That brought a smile to his face. "Sure." Revving the engine to show off, he sped away from the kerb as if he was taking part in a drag race, leaving a cloud of black smoke in his wake.

Taylor was finding it hard to believe what had just happened and wasn't sure whether she should feel hurt or angry. She settled for angry, and when Vicky turned back to her she drew her fist back, ready to strike.

"Hey, I thought you were smarter than that!" Vicky held her hands up.

"What do you mean?" Taylor lowered her arm.

"We've only been out ten minutes and you've almost landed yourself in trouble. I mean, you're right he is a dickhead, but you've got to be a bit more subtle. It's Ethan you want to piss off, not your mom and dad. Take a look around, it's a small town. How long do you think it would take for someone to tell them you were arguing in the middle of the street with Ethan?"

Taylor kicked at the ground. "Suppose. So you don't really like him then?"

Vicky put her arm around her cousin's shoulder and they started walking again. "How could I like him? He called you a munchkin."


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 6

It didn't take Taylor long to give Vicky a guided tour of the town, and when they returned Lucas and Katie were sitting outside the store.

Lucas grinned. "Heard you were back."

Taylor returned his smile. "Yep, for almost two whole weeks." She introduced her cousin before relating their encounter with Ethan.

"So what are you gonna do to him?" Katie asked.

"She's not going to do anything, are you Taylor?"

"Hi mom, didn't see you there."

Patricia let the subject drop as she handed each of them a can of coke, before disappearing back inside again.

Taylor glanced at the empty doorway. "That place we went to last time still deserted?"

Lucas nodded.

"Well what are you waiting for?" She started walking. "Let's go."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The four of them sat on what used to be the front porch of the derelict building, looking out at the surrounding fields, and drinking from their cans.

It was Lucas who brought up the subject of Ethan again. "So you're just gonna let him get away with saying those things?"

"I never said that." Taylor protested.

"But your mom did." Katie reminded her.

"That just means we have to be really careful not to get caught."

Vicky set down her coke. "We?"

"Well yeah, you wanna help, don't you?"

Vicky looked at the other three who were all waiting for her to answer, and thought again about how hurt Taylor had been when Ethan had teased her about her height. "Okay, I'm in. But we better not get caught!"

Taylor smiled, pleased that Vicky was willing to help. "So, anybody got any ideas?"

She was rewarded with three blank stares, and sighed loudly. "Well get thinkin' then!"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Lucas and Taylor were still thinking long after Katie and Vicky gave up and decided to explore what was left of the house.

"It definitely has got to be something to do with his car." Taylor announced. "Do you have any idea where he goes in it?"

"I've seen it parked at the lake quite a lot, he's always fishing these days."

Standing, Taylor wiped her sticky hands on her jeans. "Wanna check it out now?"

He nodded towards the house. "What about Katie and Vicky?"

"We can be there and back before they even know we're gone." Without checking he was following, Taylor hopped the fence and took off towards the lake.

Both were breathing hard by the time they located Ethan's fishing spot, his car parked on the dirt track behind him as he sat at the end of the jetty, headphones on and line out.

They knelt in the undergrowth watching him for a few minutes, before Taylor whispered to Lucas.

"Tyres?"

He nodded and watched as Taylor picked up a small twig and crept towards the car. In no time the dust caps were off, and the tyres on their side completely deflated. He gave her the thumbs up sign, thinking she would be happy enough with that. She wasn't. Taking a quick peek around the car to check that Ethan's attention was still on his float, Taylor disappeared vanished from Lucas's sight and let the air out of the other two tyres. Now she was happy. Lucas breathed a sigh of relief when she reappeared unscathed, and not wasting any time they hightailed it back to the others.

Vicky and Katie were still somewhere inside when they made it back to the porch. Once Taylor's breathing returned to normal and she was actually able to speak, she leaned over towards Lucas and whispered to him.

"Don't tell them, not yet anyway."

"Why not?" He whispered back.

"They can give us the perfect alibi, and they won't have to lie."

Feeling content now that she had exacted at least some revenge on Ethan, Taylor sat happily beside Lucas and waited for the other girls to emerge from the house.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Both Vicky and Taylor were in a good mood when they sat down to dinner that night, although for different reasons. Vicky had really hit it off with Katie, and Taylor, she was trying to imagine Ethan's reaction when he'd loaded all his gear into the car, only to discover he wasn't going anywhere. To top it off, Vicky had described in detail to everyone at the table where they'd been all day, and what they'd been doing. It was perfect.

They had just finished eating when they were interrupted by someone knocking loudly on the store door. Jack went to see who it was, and when he returned he was followed by the Sheriff.

"Evening folks, sorry to disturb you like this, but I need to have a word with Taylor."

All eyes turned to Taylor, and most of them did not look happy.

"Is that okay with you Jethro?"

When her dad nodded Taylor protested. "But I didn't do nothin'!"

Jethro just pulled her up from the table and led her through into the store. "Well then you have nothing to worry about, do you?"

"I know you had a bit of a run in with Ethan today."

Before Taylor had the chance to say anything she found herself being spun round to face her father."

"I thought I told you to stay clear of those two!"

"We did! Ethan pulled up beside us and called me a munchkin, but we just walked away. Ask Vicky!"

The Sheriff nodded. "That's pretty much how Ethan described it."  
"See!" Taylor turned back to the Sheriff again.

"I just need to know if you were out at the lake today."

Taylor folded her arms and glared at the man. "I did NOT sink anymore boats!"

Gibbs decided it was time to step in before his daughter really lost her temper. "The four of them spent the day up at the old Anderson place Ed. What does your son think Taylor did anyway?"

"Someone let his tyres down while he was fishing this afternoon."

"Sounds like he pissed someone else off too." Taylor suggested helpfully a split second before her dad's hand made contact with her backside.

"Ow! That hurt!" Sheriff there or not, she couldn't stop herself reaching back to rub.

"Watch your mouth." He warned.

"Sorry. Can I go now?"

She was actually asking her dad, but both men nodded.

Taylor slid back into her place at the table, butt still stinging. When she reached for her glass of milk she suddenly realised everyone was looking at her.

"WHAT? She yelled, feeling more than a little pissed off. "JESUS CHRIST! I TOLD YA I DIDN'T DO NOTHIN! HAVEN'T YOU LOT EVER HEARD OF 'THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, OR, OR, INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY?"

Unfortunately Taylor was so engrossed in her rant she hadn't noticed her dad had followed her in. Not until he yanked her out of her seat.

"I think it's past someone's bedtime."

Taylor found herself being propelled up the stairs and into her bedroom.

"You have three minutes to put your pyjamas on and clean your teeth." He ordered.

She didn't argue, even though it was only eight o'clock. Or ask him how the hell he came up with three minutes, why not two or four? He wasn't in a listening mood. Taylor dragged her bag out from under the bed. It was empty. Her mom must have unpacked it for her earlier. Four drawers later she found her pyjamas.

As she stood in the bathroom brushing her teeth Taylor tried to figure out what had just happened. She'd been home free, until she'd lost her temper. The only explanation she could come up with was 'nervous energy'. She had been worried that someone would ask her a direct question, meaning she would have to lie, and then she'd have landed herself in it, she was a crap liar.

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted when her dad banged at the door. "Time's up, get out here!"

He was waiting for her as she opened the door. Taylor really wanted to tell him she knew where her bed was, and to just leave her the f*** alone. Instead she kept her mouth shut and followed him.

Maybe it was guilt? No, she ruled that one out when she remembered what Ethan had called her. She should have known he'd go running straight to 'daddy' he was such a ….

SMACK

"Ow!"

"That's for your language."

Taylor had been so deep in thought she hadn't seen that one coming. She took a step away from him, but he just pulled her back again.

SMACK

"Ow!"

"And that's for the attitude."

When her father held the covers up for her to climb into bed Taylor reversed in, just in case he decided to throw in another swat for good measure.

"I'm giving you 'the benefit of the doubt' now." He told her as he tucked her in. "It's been a long day so I can understand why you're cranky. If the attitude's still there tomorrow, I won't be quite so forgiving." With that, and a kiss to her forehead he was gone.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Sleep came quickly to Taylor even though it was early, bud she did wake when Vicky came up to bed.

"Are they still mad at me?" Taylor asked, making her cousin jump.

"No. Well, maybe your grandpa. He told your dad he should have strapped you for taking the Lord's name in vain like that."

"Oh." She'd have to remember that in future, not only was it bad news for her ass, but it might just give him ideas about takin' her to church.

Vicky climbed into bed. "So who do you think let the air out of Ethan's tyres?"

Taylor propped herself up on her elbows. "I did."

"Yeah, right!"

"I did! Just ask Lucus, he'll tell you!"

"You went while I was with Katie?"

She nodded.

"Why didn't you tell us? We would have helped." Vicky felt a little left out.

"It was sort of a spur of the moment thing, besides it worked out pretty good didn't it?"

The only reply she got was Vicky's pillow hitting her on the head.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor thought she was the first one up the next morning, but she found her grandpa at the table reading the paper. She came up from behind and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mornin' grandpa."

"Who's that?"

"Funny grandpa, just for that you don't get a kiss!"

She didn't get away with it that easy though, as she moved away he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her down to sit on his lap.

"I think I remember you now."

Grinning up at him she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"So what have you got planned for today?" He asked.

"Maybe go to the lake. Vicky hasn't seen it yet. You wanna come?

"No, I'd only slow you down."

"We'd walk slow."

"Maybe next time. Do you want to go and pick a cereal from the store?"

"I can pick any?" Taylor slid off his knee.

"Whatever you want."

Taylor disappeared into the store, passing her dad as he stood in the doorway. He'd been watching the two of them together. Smirking he grabbed himself a coffee and sat down opposite his father.

Jack looked over his glasses at him. "Problem son?"

"I think there's something wrong with my memory. I don't remember you 'reading the riot act" being anything like that. She's got you wrapped round her little finger."

He glared at his son. "I'm her grandfather, I'm supposed to spoil her. Besides I had enough trouble with you, it's only fair that it's your turn now. So the next time Taylor gets you all worked up, just remember you did the same to me. I think it's what's known as karma."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor waited for as long as she could for Vicky to drag herself out of bed, before taking off towards the lake on her own. She did ask her dad though, to point Vicky in the right direction when she eventually did wake up, so she wasn't going to go too far. It was another bright day, but it was still only March, so the sun didn't do too much for the chill in the air. Taylor didn't care, she just shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and headed towards the first jetty.

She was sitting contentedly at the end of the wooden platform, legs crossed, watching a pair of swans glide elegantly through the water when she heard a car pull up behind her. Taylor clambered quickly to her feet and turned round, but she'd been too slow. Ethan was standing at the other end of the jetty, cutting out her only line of retreat. She was trapped. This time he wasn't on his own, Patrick stood on the track, but didn't come any closer. Instead he lit a cigarette before making himself comfortable on the hood of Ethan's car.

"Suppose you think you're clever, don't you?" He was slowly walking towards Taylor, in an attempt to intimidate her. It was working. She swallowed hard. This would be the perfect time for Vicky to show up she thought, as he stopped right in front of her. Funny, she'd never noticed before, how big he actually was. A wave of panic ran through Taylor and she opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about. That was not however, what came out.

"What's wrong Ethan, did it take you a long time to blow up your tyres?"

Ethan's face turned bright red in anger, and when he raised his arm Taylor ducked, fully expecting him to hit her. He didn't though, instead he grabbed the front of her jacket and pulled her up, so she was just about standing on her tiptoes.

"You touch my car again and you're dead!" He snarled. "Got it?"

She nodded.

"Now let's see how you like it!"

Taylor had no idea what he meant, until she hit the water."


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 7

The icy water took Taylor's breath away, but she didn't have time to worry about how cold it was, or that Ethan was standing there laughing down at her. The weight of her wet clothes quickly pulled her under, and she started to panic. No matter how hard she kicked it wasn't enough to break the surface. Taylor frantically tried to get out of her jacket, but her lungs were screaming out for air and her cold fingers fumbled uselessly at the zipper. Taylor's body finally betrayed her and she couldn't stop herself from inhaling.

When Taylor opened her eyes she had no idea where she was or what was going on. She only knew two things. Her chest hurt and she was freezing. Someone was shaking her and shouting out her name. Taylor couldn't place the voice, but the sudden movements made her cough violently, and expel whatever water was left in her lungs. It might have hurt like hell, but she did feel a little better, and her head began to clear.

Patrick was kneeling beside her. "Are you okay?"

When she nodded he turned to who Taylor assumed was Ethan.

"What the f*** did you do that for? You were only supposed to ask her about the car, NOT TRY AND F***** KILL HER!" He yelled angrily. "Give me your keys."

"NO WAY!" Ethan shouted back.

Patrick got to his feet, water dripping off him and onto the jetty. Taylor couldn't see what happened next, but she did hear the unmistakable sound of a fist meeting a face.

"I'm going to pick you up now, and you'll be home before you know it."

She didn't speak, just gave a small nod. Patrick must have managed to get the keys from his friend. He was right, Ethan's car might be a heap of crap, but it got them back to the store faster than Taylor could of imagined. Leaving her in the car, he disappeared into the store, only to reappear seconds later with her grandpa and mom close behind. It was Patrick yet again who helped her out of the car. This time when he went to lift her Taylor pushed him away.

"I can walk you know!" Her little outburst resulted in another bout of coughing, and Patrick used the opportunity to scoop her up and carry her inside. He didn't set her down until they were in the bathroom.

"We need to get you out of those wet clothes and warmed up. You're freezing." It was just the two of them now. Taylor nodded, teeth chattering, as her mom quickly helped her remove most of her clothing. Leaving only her underwear, she found herself standing in the shower, warm water slowly easing her shivering.

"Where's dad?"

"He went for a run, your grandpa's calling him now, so he should be back soon."

Taylor closed her eyes and let the water run over her face again.

"What happened Taylor?" Her mom asked from the side of the tub.

The image of Ethan laughing at her flashed through her mind, and she opened her eyes again.

"Don't wanna talk about it." She switched the shower off and grabbed a towel. "I'm gonna get changed." Then I'm gonna make him regret that shove, she thought.

"Okay. You go put your pyjamas on, and I'll go and get you something warm to drink, while we wait for the doctor. Hot chocolate alright?"

"Sure." She mumbled. Taylor's mind was already in another place. It was so much easier to be angry than scared. She had to find Ethan.

Taylor dressed quickly, putting on two sweatshirts to make up for the loss of her jacket, and headed down the stairs and towards the store. Her chest still hurt, but she didn't care, she was hell bent on revenge.

Head down she stalked towards the store door, but when she flung it open the doorway was blocked. Just treating this as another obstacle between herself and Ethan she tried to push past them.

"MOVE!"

They didn't.

When Taylor spotted Ethan's car still parked outside it only made her more determined.

"LET ME PAST!"

"Taylor." He said it so softly she barely heard it.

Her head snapped up, eyes still blazing angrily.

Gibbs knelt down in front of her. That just gave her a better view of the car, and she tried to push past him again.

He just took a hold of her arms and held them close in to her sides.

"Hey! Look at me, not the car." He ordered.

Taylor forced herself to tear her eyes of the offending vehicle and looked at her dad. The fight went out of her, and she bit her lip to stop it trembling.

"It's alright to be scared."

As soon as her released her arms Taylor flung them around his neck and began to cry, which in turn made her cough. She didn't let go of him though, instead clung tighter as he carried her back to her room.

Patricia had been watching the encounter from the back of the store, and followed them up the stairs again, but she allowed them a few minutes alone before entering the bedroom. Taylor was sitting quietly on her dad's knee. Her tears had stopped, but her breathing now sounded raspy and painful.

"Taylor, did you breathe in any water?" Patrick had just told her that Taylor was cold and wet because Ethan had pushed her into the lake, and until now she had assumed the cough was a result of being so cold.

"A bit." She shrugged.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when Taylor found herself on the move again. This time she was bundled into their own car, her mom sitting beside her in the back seat. Taylor leant up against her. "Where are we going?" We're not going home, are we?"

Patricia gave her a reassuring smile. "No, we're not going home, we're just going to get you checked out at the hospital.

"Is it gonna hurt? They're not gonna give me a shot are they?" This was not sounding good.

"Relax." She stoked Taylor's still damp hair away from her eyes. "They'll just help you feel better."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"How long?" Taylor asked again in disbelief.

"I've already told you, the doctors want to keep an eye on you over the next few days." Patricia was beginning to wish she was the one calling Jack right now.

Taylor had been stuck in the hospital bed for most of the day, and now that she was feeling better she had no intention of staying there any longer.

She shook her head adamantly. "No way! Stay here for days? Not a chance in hell!"

Patricia ignored her choice of words, and instead tried to calm her down.

"It won't be that bad. Your grandpa and Vicky will be here later to visit you." She pointed towards the TV. "You can watch whatever you want. I'm sure there will be lots of movies you'd like to see."

Taylor pouted. "It's not fair! I'm not even missing school!"

Jethro appeared carrying a juice box and a puzzle book. Patricia sighed in relief.

Taylor looked at him pleadingly. "Dad, I don't wanna stay here."

He set the drink and book on the table, before sitting on the bed beside her, not caring about the sign on the wall warning him not to do so. He put his arm around her.

"I know you don't, but you have to do what the doctors tell you to do." They had agreed not to tell Taylor why they were keeping her in for observation, I mean how do you explain to a kid about secondary drowning? Besides, either me or your mom will stay with you, just so you don't get lonely."

"Even at night?"

He nodded. "Uh huh."

"You just want to make sure I don't try and escape." Taylor grumbled.

Gibbs smirked, he had already thought of that. "No. That's not going happen. I've taken your clothes, so unless you want to run about the streets in that gown, flashing your butt at everyone, you're staying right here."

Not quite believing him, Taylor reached down to the locker beside her. It was empty. "Huh! That is so not fair!"

"Just removing the temptation." He replied, grinning at the look of disgust on her face.

Taylor glared at him and folded her arms. "Thanks dad, I really appreciate that." She wasn't going anywhere.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Three whole days Taylor had to stay in bed, before the doctor finally believed what she'd been telling everyone from the start, that she was alright. Okay, she had to admit it hadn't been that bad, there was always someone there, and Vicky and her grandpa visited every day. Even Patrick showed up to check how she was doing. He was actually quite nice, and from the way Vicky blushed every time he spoke to her it seemed as if she liked him too. Taylor didn't ask about Ethan, she was saving him until she was free again. She still didn't know what she was gonna do, but Ethan was gonna pay.

As soon as they arrived home Taylor found her recently washed and dried jacket and made for the door.

"Where are you going?"

Taylor realised her dad had a hold of her coat.

"Out."

"Your mom and I want to talk to you first." Turning her round he led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the table and waited for Patricia to join them.

Taylor waited impatiently for them to speak, she had things to do, and plans to make.

It was her dad who spoke. "We want you to promise that you won't go anywhere near Ethan, or try to get him back for what he did to you."

Taylor looked from one to the other. They were deadly serious. How could they expect her to do that?

She thought carefully before answering.

"Yeah? Well I wanna jump out of a plane, but that's not happenin' either!"

Catching the flash of anger behind her dad's eyes she sat up, anticipating an explosion from the other side of the table.

Jethro however remained calm. "The whole vendetta stops now Taylor." He told her, voice like steel. "It's gone way too far already, it's dangerous, or do I have to remind you that you've spent the last few days in hospital?

"Can I go now?" Nothing was going to make her change her mind.

"No, you can NOT go now! You're not setting a foot outside until you promise."

Taylor stood up and pushed her chair back. "That's not fair! I didn't do anything. You can't ground me for something I _might_ do!"

Gibbs stood up, just in case his daughter tried to run. "I can, and I am."

Taylor tried to work out just how far she'd get if she bolted, but quickly ruled it out. Instead she just glared back at him.

"It's your call. So what's it gonna be?"

Taylor kept her mouth clamped shut. There was no way she was gonna back down. It just meant she'd have to try and find a way to get out of here, and with no alarm that should be easy.

"I'll take that as a no then."

She kept her eyes on his, but didn't respond.

"Fair enough."

Taylor briefly wondered why he was still so calm.

"You can just march yourself upstairs and put your pyjamas on."

"What?" Bed was the last place she wanted to be.

"You heard. I don't want you slipping out the first chance you get. Until you change your mind, you're going to spend your time where I can see you. Now go and get changed. I want you back down here in two minutes!"

With one last glare at both of them, Taylor headed up to her room.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 8

_Flashback: Jethro's POV_

Gibbs strode past the woman at the reception desk, and straight on through to the Sheriff's office. Ed was sitting, feet propped up on his desk, phone in hand. A look of irritation crossed his face and he held his finger up, indicating that he wanted Jethro to wait. That was not happening. Gibbs snatched the receiver from the man's hand and slammed it down onto the cradle.

"Where's Ethan?" He demanded.

Ed pulled his feet of the desk and straightened himself in the chair.

"What's he done now?" His son was a constant source of trouble.

"He almost killed Taylor this morning, in fact he still might. She's in the hospital right now, we're just waiting now to see if her lungs fill up with fluid and finish the job off for him! NOW WHERE IS HE?"

"I haven't seen him all day. He must be out in that car of his." He looked visibly shaken. He knew his son was a bully, but he'd never gone that far before.

Gibbs placed his hands on the desk and leaned in towards the sheriff. "He threw her off the end of a jetty, fully clothed and expected her to be able to swim in again. He didn't even try and help her when she went under. If Patrick hadn't of gone in after her, she wouldn't have stood a chance."

Standing, Ed began to pace. "I don't know what to say." He stopped suddenly, and shook his head before looking back at Jethro. "The boy's out of control. I'll let you know when I find him, I'm sure you want to get back to the hospital."

Gibbs nodded, as the Sheriff lifted his keys and hat, then followed him out to their cars. He'd give him the rest of the day to find Ethan. If he didn't he would just have to do it himself.

Jethro stood outside the hospital room, trying to build up the courage to open the door, afraid of what he might find. He knew it was irrational, Patricia would have called him if anything was wrong, still the whole waiting aspect was tearing him apart.

"I DON'T WANNA EAT IT, I WANNA GO HOME!"

Taylor's voice could be clearly from the other side of the door, and he relaxed a little. From the sound of it she wasn't feeling any worse. Jethro reached for the door handle, before Patricia gave into temptation and throttled her.

The Sheriff didn't call Gibbs, instead he appeared in person at the hospital later that evening. Leaving Taylor with her grandpa, he walked with the man to one of the waiting areas.

"How is she?" Ed asked anxiously.

"No change, but that's a good sign." Jethro cut to the chase. Did you find him?"

Picking nervously at his hat, Ed nodded. "He admitted everything, eventually. Says he thought Taylor was just messing about, trying to scare him when she went under, and didn't come up again.

Jethro was sceptical. "And you believe him?"

"I know my son's a bully, and not exactly the brightest, but he wouldn't go as far as killing Taylor just because he thought she'd messed with his car, which by the way, he still maintains." He paused, giving Jethro a choice to speak. When he didn't Ed continued. "That said it should never have happened, and I can't apologise enough for what he did. I know it doesn't make any difference to the situation Taylor's in right now, but he has been punished, and his mother has finally agreed that he would benefit from a few years in military school. If that doesn't straighten him out, I don't know what will."

Gibbs nodded.

"If you want to press charges, I understand, and I'll start on the paperwork." He waited anxiously for an answer.

"Unless the situation changes I don't think that's necessary. One condition though, I want to have a private word with Ethan." He wanted to make sure the boy stayed the hell away from Taylor in the future.

One extremely nervous Ethan was delivered to Jethro later that night. He was walking stiffly, and Ed had to virtually drag him through the store and into the living room he was so scared.

"He's all yours." The Sheriff announced before turning on his heels and leaving them to it.

Gibbs circled him slowly, as Ethan stood in the middle of the room.

Ethan couldn't take the silence. "I'm sor…"

"DID I SAY YOU COULD SPEAK?" Jethro thundered from behind him. When he made his way back round to face him, Ethan dropped his eyes to the floor.

Stepping in really close, he barked out an order. "EYES UP, LOOK AT ME!"

Ethan might have towered over Taylor, but Gibbs towered over him. Ignoring the fear on the boy's face Jethro grabbed the front of his jacket and lifted Ethan off his feet, high enough to look straight into his tear filled eyes. "How does it feel when someone much bigger decides to pick on you and make you feel small? Not very nice is it?"

He lowered him to the ground.

Ethan shook his head, afraid to speak as the tears began to fall."

"From now on you're going to stay away from my daughter. I don't care what she does, or what you think she does to you, you're just going to turn and walk away, before you lose your temper. Got it?"

Ethan nodded.

"You can speak now."

"Yes sir."

"Good. If Taylor gives you any trouble, you come and tell me, and I'll deal with it. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"I was going to take my belt to you." He wasn't going to do any such thing, but a bit of fear wouldn't hurt right now. "But it looks as if your dad made a good enough job of that already. Mark my words though, if you ever do ANYTHING again, that ends up in Taylor getting hurt, I'll make the hiding your father gave you seem like nothing. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Ethan was ready to agree to anything to get out of there.

He gave the boy one last glare, before nodding towards the door. "You can go now."

Ethan was out through the store like a rocket, and Jethro was pretty sure he wouldn't slow down until he reached home. From the looks of it, military school was going to come as quite a shock to Ethan.

Now fairly sure Ethan would stay clear of Taylor, all he had to do was find a way to keep Taylor away from Ethan. If he explained to his daughter how Ethan had been punished, and was being sent away to military school it would probably stop any mad ideas about revenge. But Taylor was Taylor, and knowing her as well as he did, he knew she would just end up taunting Ethan about it, just to provoke a reaction from him, and although he disliked the boy, it wouldn't be fair on him. No, he was just going to have to lay down the law, and whether she liked it or not she was going to leave Ethan alone.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

_Present_

Taylor made it halfway up the stairs before she realised that once she got changed it would be almost possible to slip away, just like at the hospital. Unless she backed down, and she was not gonna do that. She did have principles to keep up, and Ethan was not going to win. Tiptoeing back down again, Taylor paused on the bottom step to listen. She could hear her mom and dad talking in the kitchen. It was now or never. Not one to normally hesitate, this time Taylor did. Then thought 'f*** it!' as she flew through the store, past her grandpa and out the door.

Even though Taylor had probably just signed a death warrant for her backside, she had to stifle a giggle as she ran for all she was worth. This was her first taste of freedom after being cooped up in the hospital, and boy did it feel good. Sure, she was gonna have to go back and face the music eventually, but for now Taylor was just enjoying the moment, taking deep lungfulls of fresh air, as she pumped her legs as hard and as fast as they would go. As she veered off towards the lake, the ground under her sneakers became softer, then disappeared completely as she was lifted off her feet. At first her legs kept moving in anticipation of making contact with the ground again, then her running action gave way to kicking in a desperate attempt to break free. Even as she struggled, Taylor knew she wasn't escaping, but hell, she had to give it a go, and when she found herself heading off the dirt track, towards the trees, she kicked harder. Concentrating hard on wriggling Taylor didn't notice her pants were unbuttoned until they were down round her knees, and she was staring at the rich, dark earth. Now she was pissed!

"LET ME UP! I TOLD YOU I'M GONNA GET EVEN, AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!" She spat out.

"Wanna bet?" He slipped her shorts down to meet her pants and brought his hand down on her bare backside with a resounding smack, making her yelp loudly and knocking any reply she might have had right out of her head.

Taylor tried to push far enough back to let her feet reach the ground, but her father had his leg propped up too high for that. Closing her eyes she gritted her teeth and hoped no one was listening, or God forbid wander off the path and see her being spanked. Luckily she didn't have to worry for long. He only swatted her a dozen times before standing her back up, and Taylor wasted no time pulling her pants up over her now stinging butt.

"Now, are you going to walk back, or am I going to have to carry you home and pick up where we just left off?"

He held out his hand and she took it, wondering why it didn't hurt like her backside. Letting out a defeated sigh she quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve. It looked as if it was back to the drawing board.

As her dad led her through the store again Taylor fired off a dirty look at her grandpa, he must have been the one who ratted her out, the traitor. This time her dad stood right outside her bedroom door as she changed into her pyjamas, then escorted her downstairs and planted her on the couch beside her mom. Her father still looked kinda angry as he glared down at her, so Taylor shuffled a little bit closer to Patricia. Not that her mom looked any happier, but at least she didn't have her wooden spoon close at hand.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked.

Taylor, angry at the dumb question, shrugged before answering. "Nothin'. What do you want me to say? I'm not sorry. Told you already I'm gonna get even!"

"Uh huh, and how do you think you're going to do that? If we have to keep you inside for the rest of the vacation, we will."

That did not sound good. Taylor narrowed her eyes and glared at her father. "You gotta sleep sometime you know!"

Gibbs took a threatening step towards his daughter. "If you're looking to go back over my knee you're going the right way about it."

Patricia tried to put a stop to the rapidly growing tension between father and daughter before one of them exploded.

"How long are you planning on keeping this up for Taylor? Until someone gets hurt again?"

Taylor pouted. What was wrong with them? Why couldn't they understand? It made her want to scream at them in frustration. "As long as I have to!" she spat out. "And I didn't hurt anyone! All I did was let his tyres down, Ethan's the one who tried to kill me! Go get mad at him!"

She waited for them to respond to her outburst, but both her mom and dad just stared at her, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"WHAT?" Taylor had no idea what their problem was.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do now own NCIS or any of its characters_

Chapter 9

Taylor realised she must have said something, and from the way they were looking at her it must have been bad, really bad. She didn't feel quite so safe beside her mom anymore, and wondered if she bolted now, how far she'd get. Who was she kidding? The moment she stood up, her dad would grab her, and she wasn't going to risk that. Not when he looked that angry, and she'd already ended up over his knee once today.

She said the first thing that came into her head, that might just calm him down. "Okay. I promise I won't go anywhere near Ethan." It didn't seem to make any difference, and Taylor watched in horror as her dad's hand moved down and rested menacingly on his belt buckle. "You lied."

She wrenched her eyes from his belt and looked up at him, nervously licking her lips. What the hell had she said? "About what?"

"Ethan's tyres."

That was it, she was dead! Taylor could almost see her dad shifting the blame for her almost getting killed, from Ethan to her. He'd been mad enough when he thought it was Ethan, but now he would think it was all her fault. It was a whole new ball game now and one she had no chance of winning. She pulled her knees up in front of her and wrapped her arms around them.

"You lied to us, and you lied to the sheriff!

"I never told the Sheriff I didn't do it, you did!" Probably not the smartest thing to say, Taylor thought, as usual too late.

"AND WHY DID I DO THAT TAYLOR? DO YOU THINK IT COULD OF HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT YOU TOLD US YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, AND HAD YOUR COUSIN LIE TO COVER FOR YOU?" He bellowed, then spun round as he picked up movement in the doorway. "YOU CAN GET IN HERE TOO!"

Vicky who had just been about to execute a hasty 'about turn', did as she was told. Now she could see why Jason was scared of him.

"SIT!"

Vicky nervously sat down beside Taylor.

Jethro lowered his voice before addressing Vicky. "I take it you know what's going on here?"

"Yes sir."

"Vicky wasn't lying, she didn't know we did it." Taylor protested. Shit! What did she open her mouth for? Now he had her in his sights again.

"We?"

"Huh?"

"You said we."

"So?"

"So who else was involved?"

"Jesus Christ dad! What does it matter?" It was hardly the crime of the century was it?"

Vicky stared at her as if she'd just gone crazy, and as her dad reached for her, she had to agree with her cousin.

Taylor found herself pulled to her feet, arm firmly in her dad's grip, and as he started to unbuckle his belt. She tried to backtrack. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it to come out like that!" But it was too late. He had the strip of leather off and doubled over before she'd finished speaking.

"You're determined to make this harder for yourself aren't you?" Her father asked as he turned her to the side and quickly brought the belt down twice on the seat of her jeans, before leading her to a corner. "I'm going to go and try to calm down now. Then figure out what I'm gonna do with you. You can just stand here and think about everything that happened as a result of your actions, and I want to hear it all when I get back. Understand?"

"Yes."

He turned to Vicky. "Is what Taylor said true?"

She nodded.

"Okay, you can go." Gibbs nodded towards the door.

Vicky didn't need to be told twice, and double-timed it back through to the store.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The more Taylor thought about what she'd done, the more worried she became, because she knew her dad would come to the same conclusion. Lying was bad enough, but if he blamed her for ending up in the situation where she almost drowned, she dreaded to even think about what he would do. The best thing she could hope for right now, apart from a miracle, would be for him to forget that he'd left her standing in the corner, not for long, just for a day or two.

After about ten minutes her mom came into the room, alone. Not that she turned round to look, but the perfume was a dead giveaway, and if her dad had of been with her, he would have started on her already.

"Mom?"

"You're supposed to be thinking."

"Can't think anymore. Has he calmed down yet?"

"Not yet."

"What's he gonna do?"

"I don't know Taylor. What do you think he's going to do to stop you putting yourself in danger like that again?"

At the mention of the word 'danger' Taylor groaned and leant her head against the wall, remembering what her dad had promised to do if she ever put herself in danger again. Now she knew what he was gonna do, and although she hadn't been quite sure what he had meant when he threatened to take the hide off her, she knew it wasn't gonna be pleasant. Maybe now would be a good time to run, but she needed to know that he wasn't hovering somewhere nearby.

"Where is he?"

"He's with your grandpa."

That didn't exactly help. "Yeah, but where?"

"Taylor, if you're thinking about running again, forget it. You really don't want to make things worse."

So much for that idea.

Another ten minutes or so went past and there was no sign of Gibbs.

"Do you know why he's so mad?" Taylor wasn't sure if he'd ever taken this long to calm down before, but it was always difficult to work out how long she'd been standing in the corner, each minute felt like a lifetime.

"That's what you're supposed to be telling me." He was back. "Sit down."

Looking over her shoulder, Taylor stayed right where she was. "I'm not done thinkin' yet."

"You're done." He pointed to the couch.

Staying well out of reach she moved from the corner and sat beside her mom again.

"You want to tell us why you think we're so angry?"

"But that's just gonna make you mad again."

"And you think refusing to talk won't?"

One of Tony's favourite bits of advice came to mind, 'Don't poke the bear!' This could be just one of those times.

"You're mad because I let Ethan's tyres down, and cause I lied about it."

Her father nodded. "Keep going."

"Isn't that it?"

"You know good and well that's not all!"

He was getting louder. Stalling wasn't going to work. "If I hadn't of messed with his car, I wouldn't have ended up in the lake. That do?"

"No that won't do!"

Crap. That was all she had. "But I don't know what else you want me to say, and anyway, how was I supposed to know what he was going to do?"

"You knew he was a bully, so don't give me that!"

"Did I or did I not tell you that you weren't going to do anything to Ethan?" Patricia added, just adding another nail to the coffin.

Taylor looked round at her mom and glared at her. "But he called me a munchkin!"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HE CALLED YOU, YOU DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD!" Her dad roared at her. Then asked her a question she hadn't been expecting. "What did you say to him just before he pushed you?"

She squirmed uncomfortably and tried to think of something he would believe.

The lack of an answer from his daughter only confirmed his suspicions, and he wasn't about to let her lie her way out of it. This time he yelled even louder. "WHAT… DID… YOU… SAY?"

His question was met with a wall of silence. Okay, if she wanted to play it that way, he'd oblige, he thought as he pulled Taylor to her feet. "ANSWER ME!"

Struggling to free her arm, she shouted back at him. "I CAN'T REMEMBER!"

SMACK

"OW!"

Gibbs gave her a couple of seconds to change her answer, then raised his hand again.

This time Taylor was more forthcoming with the truth. "I asked him how long it took him to blow his tyres up."

As soon as he let go of her, she sat down, just in case he decided to wallop her again.

"So, you damage his car, making him angry enough, but then you go and provoke him even more! That wasn't just stupid, considering where you were standing at the time, it was downright dangerous!" He was pacing now, trying to control his temper.

There was that word again. Taylor looked up at her father when he stopped in front of her, arms folded.

"What else?"

This time she was telling the truth, as she shook her head and answered. "I don't know." Then added, "I don't, I swear! What else did I do?" when it looked as if he didn't believe her.

"THINK!"

Taylor could feel tears beginning to well up behind her eyes. "I can't think when you're yelling at me!"

Realising Taylor was telling the truth this time he backed away, but still watched her closely. It might have taken a few minutes, but when the blood drained from her face he knew she'd figured out exactly why he was so pissed. "Go ahead, spit it out."

Taylor pushed herself further back against the couch, tears starting to fall. Brushing them away quickly, she shook her head, and stared at the pattern on her pyjamas.

"TELL ME!"

Jumping, Taylor glanced up at him, then dropped her eyes before speaking. "I was going to do something worse to him, even when you tried to stop me, and he'd already nearly killed me for just letting his tyres down. He might have done something worse too."

As she waited for her dad to say something, Taylor could fell her mom relax a little beside her, it must have been the answer they'd been looking for. Didn't make her feel any better though, she was even deader than she'd originally thought.

Her dad didn't speak for the longest time, and then when he did it was only one word.

"Upstairs."


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

_**I gotta thank wordswontstop, without our 'deadlines' I'd probably still be stuck on chapter one! And if you haven't finished your chapter yet, hurry up, you're running out of time, type, type, type!**_

Chapter 10

Taylor was trying to kill time in her room as she waited for her dad to come and kill her, alternating between pacing, and staring longingly out the window. She tried hard not to think about what was going to happen, but considering how much trouble she was in that was extremely difficult. Fighting back the tears for the umpteenth time, Taylor threw herself down on her bed, closed her eyes tightly, and tried to convince herself she was somewhere else.

Eventually the door opened, making her jump, but it was only Vicky.

"You okay?" Vicky asked as she sat on her own bed, opposite Taylor.

"For now." Taylor sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed. "What's going on down there? I've been waitin' for ages."

"Your grandpa's in the store, your mom's making lunch and your dad's gone for a run."

She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "Do you think that means I'm not gonna get spanked?"

Unfortunately Vicky shook her head. "Aunt Patricia sent him out to run off his temper. Sorry."

"Crap! He was that mad?"

Not wanting to scare her cousin, Vicky changed the subject. "How'd they find out?"

Taylor blushed. "I got angry and opened my big mouth."

Vicky grinned at her. "That wasn't exactly clever was it?"

"Yeah, well I didn't exactly plan it!" Pouting she tossed her pillow at her.

"Well that's pretty obvious!" Vicky threw it back again.

Catching it, Taylor gave it a quick punch before lying down again and placing it under her head. "I'm never getting out of here again, am I?"

Vicky shrugged. "They'll calm down, eventually."

"You're makin' me feel _so_ much better." Told her sarcastically.

"I can always …."

The door opened before Vicky could finish, and she jumped to her feet.

"Didn't we tell you to stay out of here?" Gibbs stepped aside, and Vicky guiltily slipped past him.

"Sorry."

Closing the door behind Vicky, Gibbs turned to face his daughter. The run had given him time to think, as well as to get a lid on his temper. He knew what he was going to do.

He took Vicky's place and waited for Taylor to sit up. She looked scared, and she should be.

"Do we need to go over anything we talked about earlier?" He wasn't going to drag this out.

Taylor shook her head.

"So you understand why you're being punished."

She found her tongue. "I didn't do what I was told, lied, and put myself in danger." The sooner this was over the better.

"That about covers it." He pointed to the floor in front of him. "You know what to do."

Lowering her pyjama pants, Taylor didn't fight as her dad pulled her across his knees and slipped down her sorts. As he started to spank, she forgot all about the relief she'd felt when he didn't take off his belt. All she could think of were the stinging swats, and the rapidly growing heat in her backside. By the time he fixed her pants and stood her back up she was crying hard, but instead of comforting her, she found herself being led into a corner. She wasn't surprised. He'd spanked her harder before, for a lot less, so there was bound to be a second round.

Leaning down he whispered into her ear. "Stay there until I get back."

As soon as she heard the door closed, Taylor risked a look over her shoulder, just to check she was indeed alone, before trying to pull the fabric of her shorts, away from her skin. Her clothing only intensified the heat, and any relief even for a short time was worth the effort.

Taylor had just managed to get her tears under control when her father reappeared.

"Get over here!"

He sounded angry, and when she turned round to face him, and saw what he was holding, Taylor started to cry again, but didn't move.

"Now Taylor!" He didn't want to do this, but unless he gave her something to be afraid of, she was just going to keep acting without thinking. He was praying that if he did this now, Taylor would at least stop and think about what he'd do, if she put herself in danger again.

Eyes still locked on the strap, she had no intention of moving any closer to it.

"Dad…. No…"

He was not willing to negotiate, and Taylor found herself being dragged over to where he had been standing, he propped his foot up on the bed frame and dumped her unceremoniously over his leg before tugging down both her pants and underwear. All the wriggling in the world wasn't going to help her as her father held her tight and brought the strap down hard across the middle of her backside. Taylor had never felt anything hurt like that before, not with only one smack. Ignoring her panicked cry, he raised his arm again and landed another lick of equal force on her sit spot. If Taylor thought her ass was on fire earlier, now those two areas were blazing. She braced herself for another smack, but instead he dropped the strap on the bed, fixed her clothes and stood her upright.

Gibbs still did not offer any comfort, though it wasn't easy as his daughter stood there, looking lost, with tears still falling as she gingerly reached back to pull her clothing away from her backside. Sitting down, he pulled her in front of him.

"Until I decide you can behave yourself, you're not going to be any further away from me than this, and if not me, your mom or your grandpa." Pausing, he waited to see if she was going to protest though he doubted that very much. She didn't. "You pull any stunts, try to give us the slip, or misbehave in any way, you'll find yourself right back here and I'll give you the strapping I should of given you today. Is that clear?"

Taylor glanced fearfully at the strap, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, before nodding.

He gave her one last glare, just to make sure she knew he was serious, then softened his expression and opened his arms. Without hesitation, Taylor moved in closer clinging on tightly, mumbling the occasional apology and promise, but mainly letting the contact between them calm her down, until she felt confident enough to move away.

Sniffing, she scrubbed her hands over her face, before taking a step back and looking at him suspiciously. "How'd you know where to find it?" Taylor asked, nodding towards the wide strip of leather. The last time they'd been here and her dad threatened her with it, she'd hidden it, just in case. He hadn't used it then, but it hadn't taken him long to find it today.

"How did I know you slid it in behind the closet?"

"Yeah."

"You think I never tried to hide it before?" Jethro gave her small grin and picked it up. "I know exactly what this thing feels like."

Taylor took a breath, ready to ask another question, but didn't get any further.

"And before you ask, I'm not telling you what I did to deserve it. You get enough ideas on your own without me giving you any new ones."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It was harder than Taylor had thought, having to stay within arms reach of someone all the time. At least if she had been forced to stay in her room she wouldn't have had to listen to what Vicky had been doing, or what she had planned. From all accounts Vicky had been having a great time with Patrick, Lucas, and Katie, whereas the highlights of Taylor's days had been cleaning out the storeroom with her dad, or helping her mom make lunch. Not that she had any intention of complaining about it. Even though it had been a few days now, she could still feel the two welts every time she sat down.

"Go get your coat, we're going for a walk if you want to come too."

Taylor looked up at her mom from where she was lying on the couch beside her grandpa. "We are?"

"Well, if you'd rather stay here?" She teased.

"No, no, I'm comin'!" Taylor flew upstairs to find her coat, before anyone changed their mind.

The three of them, Taylor, her mom and dad made it a good way along the track beside the lake, before they met anyone. It was just Taylor's luck that it had to be Ethan. She had been walking just in front of her parents when she caught sight of him as they rounded a bend. Taylor froze when she realised just who it was. Ethan did the same.

Gibbs prepared himself to grab his daughter, half expecting her to launch herself at Ethan. He was surprised though, when instead Taylor backed up until she was leaning up against him, hand reaching round for his. He took it, not sure if she was scared of the boy, or if she didn't trust herself not to attack. Either way, he was relieved at her reaction, maybe she was learning after all. Never the less he kept his eyes locked on Ethan's, silently warning him not to speak, until he passed. Danger averted, Taylor took a wary look behind them at a hastily retreating Ethan, before letting go of her father and reclaiming her position up front. She fully intended to make the most out of the unexpected outing.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The following day wasn't too bad either. Instead of helping out in the store, or dusting, Taylor had been roped into helping her father wash the car, and she was throwing herself into it wholeheartedly. The car had been parked out back, where the hose was, and was now covered with a mass of white soapy bubbles. Eager to start rinsing, she turned on the water and aimed the hose at the roof, just like she'd been taught to. Her efforts were rewarded by a loud yell from the other side of the car. Taylor took a step back, and looked on in horror as her dad stood up, water dripping from his hair, shirt soaked. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware that the hose was still pointed at him, but instead of stopping the torrent, Taylor erupted into a fit of giggles. She was still laughing as he stalked round to her side, and prised the hose from her hand.

"Think that's funny, do you?"

He didn't give her a chance to answer. Placing his thumb over the end of the nozzle he made the water spray right over her like a fountain.

Patricia must have heard the commotion as Taylor yelled and tried to avoid the onslaught of cold water. "What are you two up to?"

Jethro lowered the hose, and looked guiltily at his wife. "We're washin' the car."

Raising an eyebrow she looked from one to the other. "Do I need to go get the wooden spoon?"

Grinning Taylor shook her head, but Jethro thought for a second before answering.

"That reminds me, I still owe you."

Taylor had no idea what he was talking about, but her mom did.

Patricia started to back away, holding her hands out in front of her. "Oh come on, that was just one little swat."

He took another step closer to her. "Uh huh?"

She glanced nervously at the hose again. "Don't you dare!"

He dared. Raising the hose, he aimed right at his wife, and within seconds she was as wet as they were. "Now we're even." He stated with a smirk, before turning towards the tap.

"Don't think so."

Jethro turned back towards her, just in time to receive a soapy sponge in his face.

"Maybe now we're even."

"Right that's it!"

All hell broke loose, water and sponges flying everywhere, until the water stopped flowing from the hose.

"What in tarnation is going on out here?" Jack stood, hand on the tap. The three of them froze.

"You trying to catch your death?" He pointed towards the door, and they dropped their 'weapons" before squelching past him towards the house.

Taylor brought up the rear, trying to wring some of the water out of her clothes. She stopped beside him, and held her arms out wide. "Don't I get a hug grandpa?"

"No, you do not get a hug. I intend to stay dry." He placed his hands on her shoulders, and winked at her before turning her towards the house. "And don't drip on my clean floor!"

He followed them inside, shaking his head. It was going to be so peaceful when they left, but he had to admit, he was going to miss them.


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 11

_Author's note: I have a guilty conscience, so I have to admit the idea with the car wash in the last chapter came from IMSLES. Hopefully that's my karma fixed now. If not, I fully retract my confession. Please continue._

Taylor waited until everyone had finished dinner before making her announcement. "It's the seventeenth tomorrow."

"Is it?" Her father reached for his coffee.

"Yep. _March Seventeenth."_ She narrowed her eyes and watched him carefully trying to figure out if he'd forgotten.

Her mom was sitting beside her, and patted her hand. "I'd forgotten all about that. Jethro how could we forget that tomorrow is St Patrick's day?"

Taylor glared at her, but said nothing.

"It's alright Taylor we haven't forgotten your birthday." Her dad reassured her, before taking another sip of coffee.

"You sure about that?"

"Your present is all wrapped up and waiting."

"That's okay then. I was just checking."

Taylor stood up and made her way round to her dad, slipping onto his lap, snuggling into him. "You know you don't really want me to be grounded on my birthday, that wouldn't be very nice."

When he didn't speak she opened his hand and measured hers up against his. "You gotta admit, I have been good."

"That is true."

Taylor could sense him weakening. "You have to be tired of me following you about all day." She innocently tapped his wedding ring. "Must be cramping your style."

Across the table Patricia choked on her coffee.

"She's got you there, Leroy." Her grandpa added in support of Taylors reasoning.

"Hmm….. if I lift your grounding are you going to stay out of trouble?" Jethro asked his daughter.

"Course I am!" Taylor protested as if getting into trouble was the last thing she'd do. Then figured she'd change that statement to something closer to the truth and more believable. "Well, I'd try my best."

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked Patricia. "Do you believe her?"

Taylor looked expectantly at her mom.

"I think so, and we wouldn't want to cramp your style any more."

Jethro let out an exaggerated sigh. "Alright, but you're still on parole."

Taylor gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thanks dad." Before happily going in search of Vicky.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor was figuring out how to work her new iphone the next morning as she looked after the store. Her grandpa hadn't returned from his walk, Vicky was still in bed, and her mom and dad were across the road in the coffee shop. She didn't mind being alone, not after her every move had been watched over the past few days, and besides, as soon as her grandpa came back she was free again.

She spun round when the back door of the store opened. Ethan took a few steps towards her, allowing the door to swing closed behind him.

"What do you want?" Taylor tried not to sound scared.

He sneered at her. "Didn't want to see you stuck in here all on your own."

"Who says I'm on my own?"

"Let me see if I can guess where everyone is. Vicky is probably with Patrick, your mom and dad are across the street in the coffee shop, and your grandpa, well I just happen to know that right now he's with my dad."

Taylor backed up a little, even though the counter was between them. The fact that he knew there was no one else around hit her like a punch in the stomach.

"Go away Ethan, find someone else to pick on!"

"Now why would I do that? You're the reason I'm going to military school." Raising his arm he swept a row of cans off the shelf beside him, and they clattered across the floor.

"It's not my fault you're an asshole!"

Instead of answering he cleared another shelf.

Taylor slipped her birthday present into her pocket and came out from behind the counter, but she kept her distance. "What the f*** are you playin' at? Pack it in!"

"Or what?" He looked at her in disgust. "You gonna tell your daddy?"

She glared at him.

"He's gonna be awful pissed when he sees the mess you made when he wasn't around." Ethan tutted and shook his head. "Naughty girl."

"Like he won't believe me when I tell him it was you." Taylor spat back at him.

"My word against yours. I think I'll risk it. I mean, what are they going to do anyway, send me to military school twice?"

He cast his eyes around the store, and his gaze stopped on something behind her. Ethan pushed past, and strode purposely behind the counter.

"Bet you're not allowed to touch this, are you?" He lifted the rifle down off the wall. "Oh look, it's even loaded. I wonder what they'd do to you if you fired it?"

Taylor didn't answer.

"Maybe they'll spank your ass, or, if they're really pissed, they might just send you to the same school as me. Now wouldn't that be fun?"

Taylor backed away a bit more, eyes locked on the gun. Not sure what Ethan was capable of right now.

"Now, what would make a good target?" He swung the gun round, and Taylor ducked as he aimed at her. He shook his head. "No, too messy."

Glancing behind her, she prayed for someone, anyone to walk in through the door.

Without warning, Ethan pulled the trigger and the gunshot filled the normally quiet store. Taylor's ears were still ringing when Ethan walked towards her, rifle in hand. At first she thought he was going to hit her with it. He didn't. Instead he calmly took her hand and placed the weapon in it, squeezing her fingers round the barrel.

"Good luck, you're gonna need it." He laughed, before sprinting back out the way he'd come in, through the house.

Taylor was so shocked, she just stood there, mouth open, staring after him.

She was still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened, when her dad burst through the door, closely followed by her mom.

Both froze at the scene before them. Milk splashing all over the floor, where the cartons had been pierced by the bullet, cans scattered everywhere, and to top it off their daughter was standing in the middle of it all, gun in hand.

Taylor had to force herself not to run when she saw the expression on her dad's face. She held the rifle out for him to take.

"It wasn't me. It was Ethan."

"Ethan?" He took the gun from her. "Where is he then?"

Taylor pointed to the door at the back of the store. "He went that way."

She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he didn't believe a word she was saying.

"Come on dad, if it had been me, would I still be standing here? He snuck in the back way, and just sorta .." Taylor gestured at the mess surrounding her. "went nuts!"

When her father slammed the rifle down on the counter, grabbed her arm and began to drag her towards the stairs, Taylor knew for sure he wasn't buying it.

"I told you it wasn't me!" She protested as she found herself being dragged up the stairs. "Daaaaa…d!"

He didn't look back at her. "Didn't see anyone else standing there with a gun in their hand!"

"He went out back!" Panic was beginning to set in. It was bad enough when she was actually guilty, but this was SO not good. "I thought you could tell when I was lying!"

"I thought so too." They were in his bedroom now, his hand still clamped on her arm.

Taylor wasn't quite sure what they were doing in there until he opened a drawer and pulled out the strap. Now she knew.

"Drop them!" He ordered, nodding at her jeans.

"You can't! It was Ethan. He wants me to get into trouble so you'd send me to military school like him!"

Gibbs tossed the strap onto the bed, and knelt in front of her. "He told you about military school?" No one but himself, the sheriff and Ethan knew about that.

Taylor nodded. "It was Ethan, I swear."

He searched her face, looking for any trace of a lie. Nothing.

Relieved her father finally believed her, she sat down on the bed.

Feeling guilty now, Jethro sat down too, putting his arm his daughter. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry."

"I think the cheese must have slid off his cracker."  
"Huh?"

"Ethan's lost the plot, dad." She looked up at him. "Please don't go after him."

He hadn't expected that. "Why?"

"Because at least now he thinks he's won, so he'll leave me alone now."

"I'm not sure about that." The boy had to be stopped.

"But we've only got a few days left before we go home, and I don't want to spend it waiting for him to sneak up on me. Please dad."

"Tell you what, I'll talk it over with your mom, but I'm going to have to tell his father eventually, you do know that don't you?

Taylor nodded.

He hugged her, before standing up, and walking towards the door. "How good are you with a mop?"

"I don't believe you're gonna make me mop up milk on my birthday!" She complained, but followed him anyway. "You could least walk a bit slower, and give mom the chance to clean it up before we get there!"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor was curled up on the couch beside her grandpa, watching the clock with interest. Now she was twelve she was curious to find out if she got to stay up later. When the hands showed nine thirty though, her mom gave her the usual reminder.

"Time for bed Taylor."

"Aww, come on, I'm a year older now, I should have a later bedtime."

Patricia just smiled at her. "That's not how it works. When you're not tired at nine thirty we'll think about changing your bedtime.

"Who says I'm tired?" Taylor asked, accusingly. Then yawned. Talk about bad timing.

Her mom just held out her hand. "Come on. When you've got your pyjamas on you can show me what this new iPhone of yours can do.

Taylor tried to get her yawn under control, but couldn't, and realising there was no way now that she could argue that she wasn't tired, took her mom's hand and followed her upstairs. Betrayed by her own body she thought. Maybe it was about time to start drinking coffee.

The rest of the vacation passed smoothly, and before they knew it, it was time to head back to DC. Plans were made though. Vicky promised to email Patrick at least twice a day. Taylor could see that lasting for at least a whole week, before someone else caught her eye. Patricia promised they'd be back during the summer, Jack in turn promised to visit them for a few weekends in between and Taylor, as usual promised to be good and stay out of trouble. Jethro however didn't make any promises or plans as they climbed into the car, he was just relieved both his family and Stillwater had survived another one of their visits.


End file.
